#Town2Town Empty Shops Project Cumbria - Progamme

Arcade in collaboration with Eden Arts
Arts in Empty Shops - an Exhibition ... #Town2Town

A free exhibition for public audience in two Cumbrian towns; based in Lowther Arcade, Carlisle & Devonshire Arcade, Penrith.

5th March – 20th 2010

Opening Hours 10am – 5.30pm with additional events being programmed throughout to follow updates go to: http://arcadeart.blogspot.com/

Launch night Fri 5th March Lowther Arcade, Carlisle at 8pm
& Devonshire Arcade, Penrith Launching Sat 12 noon



Programme:

Carlisle

Fri 5 March 8pm Launch night - Lowther Arcade, Carlisle
Live Music from Nicola Reed
Mini Food Fest from Circle Cafe Bar
Di Clay – small live interventions plus further interventions throughout Project
Monsters delivered by Pui Lee
Plus comedy at Outrageous
and Arts in empty Shops –

5-6 Lowther Arcade –
Space Fashioning Collective with
Jen Bibby
Antonia Heller
Jodie Parkhouse
Adele Bagnall
Helen Willis
Christine MacKenzie
Laura Williamson
Kelly Harkus
Oluwatobi Shonibare

15 Lowther Street
Look up, remember, dream - Towers and Turrets - Laura Harrison
Collection of New work - Rachael Allen

17 Lowther Street
Badgerbadger Projects with
Kit Mead, John McAndrew & Michael Davies

plus
Central Arcade Aerial Walkway
Bridge in the Gap – Caroline Dalton
Lantern – Matthew Wells


Additional Activities at Lowther Arcade including:

Sat 13th March 11 – 1pm Air Clay workshop from Chris Hurford

Sun 14th March Film Showcasing Night at The Circle Cafe Bar 7.30pm
- a night screening local film talent in association with Cumbria Film Alliance
-
Mon 15th – 20th The Meanwhile Empty Shops Tour at 17 Lowther Street
with The Revolutionary Arts Group – who invite artists/visitors/agents/managers to work with them in duration
plus
accompanying artist talk led by Dan Thompson of Revolutionary Arts Group on 15th March 1pm at University of Cumbria, Kendal St, Carlisle.

Mon 15 and onwards intermittent Sound interventions by Jane Dudman
- Walkway
Sat 20th Culmination Exhibition for Meanwhile/Revolutionary Arts Group
plus walkway music by Craig Bryson & Ben Rogerson & form 12noon - 3 pm - Sculpture Instruments from Ben Gates

plus more


Penrith

Sat 6 March 12 noon - Devonshire Arcade, Penrith
Poetry from Nick Pemberton & friends in association with Penrith Library/World Book Week
All day Air Clay workshop from Chris Hurford
and Arts in empty Shops –

6 Devonshire Arcade
Fashion Silhouettes - Jessica Mills

9 Devonshire Arcade
Poetry

12-14 Devonshire Arcade
Louise Horne
“I fear you may have overestimated me...” - Sam Smith
Matthew Wells

29/30 Devonshire Arcade
Badgerbadger Projects with Geoffrey Leung, Jennifer Ferns & Paul McDonald
Emma Desborough-Hartley




Arcade acknowledges sincere thanks to Eden Arts, Meanwhile Projects, Walton Goodland, Penrith Retail Ltd. and to Carlisle City Council Arts Development for their support.

Town 2 Town Project Cumbria - arts in empty shops

arcade is an artist-led initiative based in North Cumbria which aims to encourage the bringing together of artists and creative practitioners working in broad ranging art forms, and to organise open and accessible events for public in ‘non-gallery’ contexts: - by putting arts into empty spaces.

May 2008 saw the very first initiative for Arcade with artists working together in consultation with commercial property agents to create a short programme of art interventions specific to one area in focus - establishing new art/business links and importantly highlighting issues of regeneration in the forgotten public 'space'. To date Projects have been organised around the Victorian built walkway Lowther Arcade in Carlisle city centre, where the whole area has then been turned into an arts ‘hotspot’in exhibition using: the main walkway and architecture, several empty shop units or windows, plus adjoining businesses throughout.

Our next Project proposed for early March uses more of the same Carlisle location but additionally Arcade are now collaborating with Eden Arts with a view to incorporating further empty shop use within Devonshire Arcade in nearby Penrith - thus creating a town to town link project in enquiry which will aim to stimulate interest from both artists practice and happening in survey.
Initial interest from artists so far suggests a presence of visual arts/installation, video, fashion, sound, applied arts and more and we also propose to run a number of workshops for community participation also.

Added to this we have also invited The Meanwhile Space tour to join us in the Project: Meanwhile have funded key organisations - significantly The Revolutionary Arts Group (who are leading proponents of the national Empty Shops Network) to tour as a live project, they will spend a week working with local artists and the community to create a one-day local history exhibition, finding stories in the places they visit. The week will be packed full of practical sessions, networking meetings and chances to explore technology - so the people they work with see the potential of empty shops and meanwhile projects.

The Project will Launch - on Friday 5th March 2010 at 10am in Penrith Devonshire Arcade Project then and at 8pm in Lowther Arcade, Carlisle.
Both Exhibitions will run until Sat 20th - watch this blog for more updates.

Revolutionary Arts Group and colleagues will be based in Carlisle at No. 17 Lowther Street from Mon 15th March - Sat 20th 2010.
If you would like to know more or would like to be involved in any way please email arcadearts@hotmail.co.uk or Tel: 07856820680 or see links attached http://meanwhilespace.ning.com/profiles/blogs/empty-shop-tour http://artistsandmakers.com/staticpages/index.php/emptyshops http://www.edenarts.co.uk/empty-shop-project/

Arcade acknowledge sincere thanks to Eden Arts, Meanwhile Projects and to Carlisle City Council Arts Development for their support.